Bible Strands
Psalms 119:114
You are my hiding place and my shield; I put my hope in Your word.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the LORD from within the Tsadi stanza (vv. 113–120), having just despised the double-minded and about to command evildoers to depart. The moment is one of deliberate, unambiguous commitment.
The words — סִתֵּר (siter, H5643) means "hiding place," a concrete image of concealment and safety; מָגֵן (magen, H4043) is "shield," a military term for a defensive barrier. Together they move from passive shelter to active defense.
The thread — The same pairing of hiding place and shield recurs in Psalms 3:3 and 32:7, and the broader motif of God as refuge appears in Psalms 91:1. The image is a recurring psalmic formula, not unique to this verse.
Why it lands — The psalmist's hope (יִחָלְתִּי) is directed specifically at "your word" (לִדְבָרְךָ), not at God's power or character in the abstract. The reader is asked to locate their trust in what God has said, not in a general feeling of security.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
Cross-references
- Psalms 91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
- Psalms 32:7 You are my hiding place. You protect me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
- Psalms 3:3 But You, O LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.
- Isaiah 32:2 Each will be like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in a dry land, like the shadow of a great rock in an arid land.
- Psalms 119:81 My soul faints for Your salvation; I wait for Your word.
- Psalms 130:5 I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope.
- Psalms 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
- Psalms 119:74 May those who fear You see me and rejoice, for I have hoped in Your word.